What's wrong with Facebook's Instant Articles feature?

Why have many of Facebook's early partners - including the New York Times and Hearst - dropped out of Facebook's Instant Articles feature?

Just about two years ago, when Facebook launched its Instant Articles feature, it promised media companies not only greater access to such stories but also help publishers make money from the content distributed.

There are many reasons attributed, but the question that arises frequently is: was the bottomline to get media companies to hand over their content and not make money for them? Many publishers say that they have never been able to generate much revenue from the format and that Facebook hasn't helped much. Facebook disputes this.

One tech analyst Ben Thompson pointed out in the newsletter Stratechery, that Facebook was trying to create a three-sided market with Instant Articles, by serving consumers on one side and media companies on the other. But while it created a great product for users, it "completely dropped the ball" when it came to making it a good deal for publishers.